samarthbhaskar’s
review published on
Letterboxd:

Why do I love this movie so much? I don't know. It ranks, for me, with Goodwill Hunting, as a 90's movie for which adult me cannot fully explain my admiration. Matt Damon has, maybe, done more to promote the Horatio Alger myth to men of my generation than any amount of Ayn Rand books. His white guy is capable of surmounting any obstacle purely through sheer intelligence, grit and good luck. I suppose there's something fundamentally very attractive about that idea.

It also occurred to me, on this viewing, that Rounders may be one of the best movies made about student loan debt (the kind that most young people have). It may just have been 15 or 20 years ahead of its time. But then again, if it were made today, it would be missing the fantastic set of 90s B-players that show up throughout this movie.